It is routinely claimed that America is anti-Muslim. In a November
2002 article in the international relations magazine Foreign
Affairs, Middle East analyst Barry Rubin, director of global
research at the US-based International Affairs Centre, counters
this claim in the course of an article on anti-Americanism in
the Arab world. Here is a summary of key points:-

American policies demonstrate consistent support for the Muslim
perspective:

Rubin show that during the last half-century,
America has repeatedly supported Muslim forces in major conflicts
with non-Muslim states: supporting Turkey against Greece,
Bosnia against Yugoslavia, the Muslims of Kosovo against Yugoslavia,
Pakistan against India, the Islamic Afghan rebels against
the USSR, and Azerbaijan against Armenia

During the Cold War, argues Rubin, America became Islam’s
political patron in the Middle East, because traditional Islam
was seen as a an obstacle both to secular communism, and to radical
Arab nationalism

The USA has courted Syria, implicitly accepting Syria’s
control over Lebanon for over 30 years

For decades, argues Rubin, the US kept its military forces out
of the Persian Gulf to avoid offending Arabs and Muslims there.
He maintains that they entered the Persian Gulf only when invited
to do so to protect Arab oil tankers against Iran, and to lead
the Arab-supported coalition to free Kuwait following Iraq’s
invasion.

In Somalia, where no vital US interests were at stake, Rubin
argues that the US engaged in a humanitarian effort to help a
Muslim people suffering from “anarchy and murderous warlords”

When Al-Qaeda blew up two US embassies in 1998 in East Africa,
causing immense loss of life, the US responded with only very
limited retaliation

And since September 11, US leaders have taken pains to remind
the world (and the American public) that Islam and Arabs are not
enemies of the US

American policies in relation to Israel

In a similar vein, Rubin cites illustrations to challenge the
myth that US policy has always “sided with” Israel
against Muslim and Arab interests:

In the 1950s, America sought to demonstrate
its sympathy for Arab nationalism, and for Egyptian President
Gamal Abdel Nasser, by preventing his overthrow by the UK,
France and Israel in the Suez war

In 1973 the US forced a ceasefire on Israel, thus ending the
Arab-Israeli war and saving Egypt from overwhelming defeat (Egypt
had started that war with a surprise attack on Israel)

In 1982 the US organised the safe passage of Yasser Arafat
out of Beirut following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, and
the US pressured Tunisia to give him sanctuary

In the 1990s the US involved the Palestinians fully in three-way
peace negotiations with Israel, despite a history of Palestinian
terrorism and anti-Americanism, as well as its alignment with
the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and with Iraq in the 1991
Gulf War

In the final stages of those peace negotiations (2000-1), America
pushed for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement that would create
a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem [it was
President Clinton who pressured Israel to accept East Jerusalem
as the Palestinian capital – Beyond Images]

So why the anti-Americanism in the Muslim world?

Rubin maintains that anti-American radicals - both Arab and
non-Arab - distort America’s record, and ignore all positive
examples of US backing for Muslim causes. He claims that this
anti-Americanism serves various purposes:-

failing Arab regimes can improve their
domestic standing and use anti-Americanism as an excuse for
political and social oppression and for economic stagnation

by distracting the attention of Arab publics from their own
countries’ shortcomings and instead focussing on hating
America, Rubin argues that Arab rulers can avoid responding to
demands for democracy, human rights, higher living standards,
less corruption and incompetence, new leadership, equality for
women, due process of law, freedom of speech and other developments
which are “sorely needed” in the Arab world.

Foreign Affairs magazine, in which Rubin’s article appears,
is one of the most widely read and respected international journals,
sponsored by the US Council on Foreign Relations. It frequently
carries articles by Arab journalists, academics and political
figures. Barry Rubin’s article (of which this Briefing contains
only short extracts) is called ‘The Real Roots of Arab Anti-Americanism’
(Foreign Affairs Magazine, November / December 2002, p73, and
see the Foreign Affairs website: www.foreignaffairs.org)